The Drelmer
The Drelmer When the Drelmer were forced underground by their enemies they began to live their lives disconnected from the rest of the world, in an uncivilised tribal-like state. Drelmer are rarely seen above the surface and suffer from strange pigment loss in their skin due to lack of sunlight, making them pale, their eyes also find it hard to adjust to bright lights, being a strange, Black pigment. Drelmer are often short, skinny and all share the shade black as a prominent hair colour. The Drelmer are considered a "dirty" and "tribal" people, mainly because of their unusual ritualistic religion involving alchemy that is commonly revered and tendency to resort to crime or selling their “wares” onto unknowing customers rather than taking common lines of employment. 'Culture' The Drelmer originated in the swamp habitats of ___, living in small wooden houses on stilts. They would grow strange fruits of different tastes and would drink water welled up though the swamp water surface. The current Drelmer we see today live in underground structures like dis-used mines or caves for example, they build support beams and struts, mining small rooms where they live into the rock walls called “Domes”. Each Drelmer community is called a Collective, they consist of many Domes, open corridors and usually a place of worship, much like their swamp village counterparts. The Drelmer often have an administrative building but only in a collective of more than twenty Domes however this is often rare due to the inconsistency of the size of various Collectives that have been discovered so far. The Drelmer often live quiet lives that are often spent studying religion or herbalism. The Drelmer soon adopted a more civilised approach after the exile that forced the Drelmer from their lands. Instead of the rags and furs the villagers would soon begin to wear simple clothing, use modern sewage solutions and adopt an economy based on barter. 'Religion' As many of the original beliefs or “Teachings of Tsarra” revolve around the use of psychoactive substances in an almost ritualistic fashion, many firm believers in the teachings of Tsarra will often smoke or drink various substances that will produce several hallucinogenic effects, this would be seen as a state of worship of prayer. The teachings of Tsarra have been passed down from generation to generation and are still practiced with the cave Drelmer we see today. Tsarra is the Goddess that in the begging of the Drelmer life cycle, taught the many to eat the fruits and expand their minds with the various plants easily found within the swamp. Many common Tsarra religious worship sites were destroyed long ago, the Drelmer how however pray in much smaller chapels that consist of a single room with many cushions adorning it. A large fire filled with herbs is lit in the centre, with the exits sealed however the smoke quickly fills up the room, allowing the Drelmer to pray. 'History' Before the Drelmer exile the Collectives were a lot larger, more than fifty wooden houses including a palace, chapel and market. Most of the swamps had at least five Collectives where the Drelmer would protect the borders with vigilance, once they were forced underground however the little military they had were disbanded, over time adopting hunting rather than fighting as the main masculine role. The Drelmer were originally attacked due to their technological inadequacy, many required land and the Drelmer had made most of the forests and swamps their homes. Many Drelmer were enslaved and still are to this day, the Drelmer being seen as a second class race in the modern era. Many of the enslaved Drelmer adopted the name “The Cast” in reference to their chains often worn around their wrists and neck. Many modern day Drelmer slaves are more trusted, very little still wear chains and they serve as servants rather than labourers.